John Wasik

CHICAGO (Reuters) – If you’re weary of watching the stock and bond market get dyspepsia over the Federal Reserve’s possible pullback of its easy money policy, turn your gaze to the U.S. home market. Rising interest rates could be a catalyst to boost sales and prices.

In January, the average 30-year mortgage rate, as tracked by Freddie Mac, was 3.34 percent. In the most recent survey, the rate jumped to 4.46 percent, up more than half a percentage point from the week before.

While that is still a bargain by historical standards – the benchmark rate averaged about 8 percent in 2000 – the summer buying season combined with the possible end of the Fed’s easing policy will move millions of buyers into the home market.

Those who are still on the fence about buying a home will be worrying that rates will soar higher. Mortgage rates are still relatively low, so “fear of regret” will push them into purchasing.

Overall, the outlook for U.S. housing continues to improve. U.S. home prices posted the biggest gain in seven years in April, according to CoreLogic, up 12 percent from April a year ago.

CHICAGO, July 2 (Reuters) – If you’re weary of watching the
stock and bond market get dyspepsia over the Federal Reserve’s
possible pullback of its easy money policy, turn your gaze to
the U.S. home market. Rising interest rates could be a catalyst
to boost sales and prices.

In January, the average 30-year mortgage rate, as tracked by
Freddie Mac, was 3.34 percent. In the most recent survey, the
rate jumped to 4.46 percent, up more than half a percentage
point from the week before.

While that is still a bargain by historical standards – the
benchmark rate averaged about 8 percent in 2000 – the summer
buying season combined with the possible end of the Fed’s easing
policy will move millions of buyers into the home market.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Now that the U.S. Federal Reserve has announced it might wind down its stimulus program, and as rates rise, it’s critical to adjust your portfolio.

Bond prices fell as yields rose to a near two-year high on Monday. The U.S. Treasury sell-off was sparked Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments the central bank might begin scaling back purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities later this year.

The impact of rising interest rates, which depress bond prices, are measured directly through duration. Duration measures a bond portfolio’s sensitivity to rates. For each one-percentage point uptick in rates, the duration gauge shows you how much money you can lose in principal. Generally, the longer the duration, the greater the chance you’ll lose money.

CHICAGO, June 25 (Reuters) – Now that the U.S. Federal
Reserve has announced it might wind down its stimulus program,
and as rates rise, it’s critical to adjust your portfolio.

Bond prices fell as yields rose to a near two-year high on
Monday. The U.S. Treasury sell-off was sparked Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke’s comments the central bank might begin scaling back
purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities later this year.

The impact of rising interest rates, which depress bond
prices, are measured directly through duration. Duration
measures a bond portfolio’s sensitivity to rates. For each
one-percentage point uptick in rates, the duration gauge shows
you how much money you can lose in principal. Generally, the
longer the duration, the greater the chance you’ll lose money.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Traders are nervous as Wall Street waits for the Federal Reserve to reveal its next quantitative easing move. Last week marked the third week out of the last four in which major indexes turned negative.

What if you ignored the market’s mood, though? Would it make a difference?

If you can find managers focused on buying and holding the best stocks – no matter how the rest of the market is behaving – you might reap higher gains over time.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – For Eugene Fama, the University of Chicago professor and father of modern finance, the key to investing is relatively simple – stay in a low-cost, diversified portfolio to capture virtually all market returns with a mix that’s right for the amount of risk you can stomach.

Yet few people really believe that will work – they don’t like staying still – so they chase active managers or pick stocks themselves, usually buying and selling at the wrong times. They deceive themselves into thinking that they can outwit the smartest managers in the world and their costs won’t sink them.

With the stock market flattening out and perhaps taking a breather from its first-half surge, it’s worth taking a look at Fama’s basic tenets to avoid such bad behavior. (I recently had the chance to speak to him during a conference at the university sponsored by Loring Ward, an investment manager based in San Jose, California.)

CHICAGO (Reuters) – If a tree falls in the forest, can you make a little money? As the U.S. housing rebound continues, you can watch the value of your real estate rise. In addition you can reap gains from resource companies that own and process timber.

Since most U.S. homes are still framed with wood, timber becomes a more valuable commodity as new construction booms. Home prices gained the most in seven years in March, according to a recent S&P Case-Shiller housing index report. Housing starts in April rose 16 percent over the previous month with new building permits up 14 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

North American sawmills are running at the fastest pace in six years, up nearly 7 percent over last year, according to CIBC World Markets, a Canada-based investment bank. Growth in China is also contributing to the rebound. More than 60 percent of log exports from the Pacific Northwest head to the People’s Republic.

CHICAGO, June 3 (Reuters) – If a tree falls in the forest,
can you make a little money? As the U.S. housing rebound
continues, you can watch the value of your real estate rise. In
addition you can reap gains from resource companies that own and
process timber.

Since most U.S. homes are still framed with wood, timber
becomes a more valuable commodity as new construction booms.
Home prices gained the most in seven years in March, according
to a recent S&P Case-Shiller housing index report. Housing
starts in April rose 16 percent over the previous month with new
building permits up 14 percent, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau.

North American sawmills are running at the fastest pace in
six years, up nearly 7 percent over last year, according to CIBC
World Markets, a Canada-based investment bank. Growth in China
is also contributing to the rebound. More than 60 percent of log
exports from the Pacific Northwest head to the People’s
Republic.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – For investors who piled into bond funds this year, the past week has been an abject lesson of how to get bruised in short order.

An uptick in yields smacked bond prices, which move inversely to yields. Funds investing in high-yield and long-maturity issues got hit the worst. Yields on 10-year Treasury Notes hit a peak of 2.23 percent, the highest since April of last year, before dropping to 2.16 percent on Wednesday.

The pre-June bond swoon is a harbinger of things to come. The U.S. economy is heating up after years of decline, which will trigger greater demand for credit and lower bond prices.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – For investors who piled into bond funds this year, the past week has been an abject lesson of how to get bruised in short order.

An uptick in yields smacked bond prices, which move inversely to yields. Funds investing in high-yield and long-maturity issues got hit the worst. Yields on 10-year Treasury Notes hit a peak of 2.23 percent, the highest since April of last year, before dropping to 2.16 percent on Wednesday.

The pre-June bond swoon is a harbinger of things to come. The U.S. economy is heating up after years of decline, which will trigger greater demand for credit and lower bond prices.